Not a Piece
by arrandomness
Summary: A very short one shot. What if Katniss had realized she loved Peeta at the end of the first Hunger Games.


_We both know they have to have a victor._

So who will kill who first?

"Katniss." Peeta nods at my bow. "Do it."

"No!"

"Katniss, please. One of us has to die."

"Then you shoot me!"

"How could you possibly ask me to do that?"

"How could you ask me?"

"You have people who need you. I don't."

"What about your parents?"

"They'll miss me, of course. But they'll get along. Your family depends on you."

Why is he so intent on me living and him dying? I look into his eyes, pleading with me.

And then I understand.

It wasn't an act for him.

All this time, I have had been acting for Haymitch, to get food and supplies. Peeta hasn't been. Everything he has done and said has been absolutely true.

Peeta Mellark is in love with me.

I get it now. This is what they wanted all along. Me to kill Peeta, or Peeta to kill me.

The Capitol needs entertainment. They find it in children killing each other. To add to the excitement, have the boy kill the girl he loves, or the girl kill the boy who loves her.

This is what they wanted all along.

This is why they added the rule in the first place. They knew we could be the last two, because we are the smartest, and he would do anything to protect the girl he loves.

Then see who is more desperate for the fame and fortune.

I stand there pondering this. Haymitch thinks it will be me. He knew all along that Peeta's love was real, and mine was fabricated. He is right now waiting for me to shoot Peeta through the heart.

So why can't I?

I think about the last days, all my interaction with Peeta. Treating him, talking to him, feeding him. I think about how it wasn't awful. How if we hadn't been fighting for our lives, I would have been enjoying myself. I think about kissing him. How it felt, how I felt.

And I understand again.

I'm in love with him, too. I love Peeta. That's why I can't shoot him.

What a predicament I'm in. Forced to sit and watch him die, because I won't kill him, he won't kill me, and he's losing blood quickly.

Then something triggers in the back of my brain. The night before the Games, as we sat on the rooftop. _Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games._

And I know what I have to do.

I walk over and kiss him with as much feeling as I can muster. I pour every feeling I just realized into the kiss. When we break apart, I look him straight in the eyes and say, "I love you."

He smiles sadly. "I love you, too."

"And you're right. My family does depend on me."

The look in his eyes is the worst thing I have ever seen. Triumph, because I am agreeing with him. Relief, because his pain will soon be over. And fear. Because he doesn't want to die.

I finish my thought. "And now they will depend on you." I turn my arrow and drive it into my own heart.

I was wrong before. The look in his eyes now is the worst thing I have ever seen. Rage, because I lied, and tricked him again. Terror, because I'm dying. And grief, because he knows there is now way he can save me.

"NO!" he screams as I fall. Despite his leg, he rushes over to me. He pulls his shirt off and puts it over my heart to stem the bleeding. "Katniss, please, don't leave me. I love you."

"Take care of Prim," I choke. Then, for the cameras, I say, "I am not a piece in your games!"

I can't keep my eyes open anymore. The pain starts to fade. I feel Peeta's lips on mine, kissing me, begging me to live.

I'm so tired. As I fall asleep, I hear a cannon in the distance, and Claudius Templesmith's voice saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark!"

_The End_

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note<span>: Let me explain a few things.

First: I know that Katniss probably wouldn't live that long after stabbing herself in the heart. And that the cannon and announcement would come after she died, not as she was dying. But I wanted her to know that she didn't die for nothing.

Second: I know some of her epiphanies were talked about before they announced the revoking of the rule. But they had to be there so she knows she is in love with him.

So, please review. And be critical if you think this could be improved. But if the purpose of your review is to complain about either of the things above, please don't.

~arrandomness


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